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I got mugged by three cretins during Easter and my court case is tomorrow.
What the fuck happens? What do I do? it's in a magistrate's court, so do I have to give my own version of the events or what?
Do I wear a suit? Do I cheer loudly when they are found guilty or just stand there looking gormless / smug?
HELP.

is it a trial (did they plead not guilty at an earlier hearing)? Or is it a summary hearing? If it's a trial then yes, you'll most likely have to give evidence. If it's a summary hearing then very little will happen.

The prosecutor from the CPS or the police should really have been in touch with you to tell you all this.

Just do what you're told. I'd dress smart, but it's not really compulsory. What happens will depend on a lot of factors - mainly whether or not they plead guilty, and how serious it was. If they plead not guilty and it's serious it will probably be sent to crown court where you'll have to give evidence in front of a jury. If it's relativly minor and they admit it, the CPS will probably sum it up and the magistrates will hand out a sentence there and then. You're allowed to be happy about it, but whooping and cheering would be weird.

I go to court as press all the time and it's great fun - I don;t envy your position, but do what you're told and you'll be fine!

D.A. Jim Trotter: Now, uh, Ms. Vito, being an expert on general automotive knowledge, can you tell me... what would the correct ignition timing be on a 1955 Bel Air Chevrolet, with a 327 cubic-inch engine and a four-barrel carburetor?
Mona Lisa Vito: It's a bullshit question.
D.A. Jim Trotter: Does that mean that you can't answer it?
Mona Lisa Vito: It's a bullshit question, it's impossible to answer.
D.A. Jim Trotter: Impossible because you don't know the answer!
Mona Lisa Vito: Nobody could answer that question!
D.A. Jim Trotter: Your Honor, I move to disqualify Ms. Vito as a "expert witness"!
Judge Chamberlain Haller: Can you answer the question?
Mona Lisa Vito: No, it is a trick question!
Judge Chamberlain Haller: Why is it a trick question?
Vinny Gambini: [to Bill] Watch this.
Mona Lisa Vito: 'Cause Chevy didn't make a 327 in '55, the 327 didn't come out till '62. And it wasn't offered in the Bel Air with a four-barrel carb till '64. However, in 1964, the correct ignition timing would be four degrees before top-dead-center.
D.A. Jim Trotter: Well... um... she's acceptable, Your Honor.

when my mate was assaulted on a football pitch by a chav. We all sat in a room, drank tea, were called in 1 by 1, gave our version of events, answered questions when asked, took about 10 minutes each, apart from my mate who got assaulted, who was in there about half an hour. Then we went home.

Despite their being CCTV footage of them running after me and the police finding my phone on them. I assume they think I might not turn up or something. But the evidence is pretty much all against them, so I'm guessing / hoping the magistrate will be all LOL GUILTY on them

You'll most likely have to give evidence. I'm surprised a mugging hasn't been sent to the crown court tbh.

Magistrates courts are notoriously slow during trials (magistrates don't have the legal knowledge of judges so they keep having to stop and start and take coffee breaks), so depending on how many witnesses there are you'll probably be in for a long day.

Someone read out my home address in the court room, in front of this guy which I thought was a little daft.

The police officer told me to bow at the magistrate, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.

The accused kept staring me out when I was giving evidence so I put my hand up and said "he's distracting me" and the magistrate said "please address him as Mr. Burke." So I had to call a teenage thug who'd come at me with a knife 'Mister'.

His lawyer was like Lionel Hutz at times, clutching at straws and accusing me of having an anger problem. He said "I put it to you that you were the agressor in this situation and that Mr. Burke drew his knife because he feared for his safety."

My Dad had to go to court quite a lot as a witness, because he worked for a brewery and breweries and beer deliver vans get robbed quite a lot and he had all the serial numbers.

The brewery once got robbed by a customer and my dad had to go to court as a witness, to confirm that the beer they had as evidence was in the brewery at a given time.

It turned out that the guy who stole the beer was in the IRA and ran a shop in Killburn that funelled all the money back to Belfast. It was in the paper and everything. Apparently the guy was openly gay, which my old man found very unusual for a terrorist.

You can request for all personal details to remain private. Unfortunately, some courts do have mixed waiting rooms, and it happened to me when I had to give evidence against a guy who assaulted me. Funnily, it didn't bother me as I enjoyed seeing the look of abject shame on his and his girlfirend's faces as I started them out like a nutcase with a mafia dad. Sadly, my mate who was witness #2 freaked out and bailed on me. (there were two other witnesses though, so he went daaaarn:) well, not quite, but he did get community service and I got a couple of hundred quid compensation- got to love the scottish legal system and its criminal/civil overlap.)

If it is a mixed waiting room and you feel uncomfortable, you don't have to wait there you know. You can go to the cafeteria or another area, as long as you tell the court clerk where you're going and keep your ears peeled for your case being called. I'd stress though, that the joint waiting room *is* fairly uncommon.

Also, has nobody form the prosecution service been in touch to talk to you? That is outrageous if it's true. Is this the actual evidence part of the case? Have you actually been summoned to attend? Tell me what the summons says. I'm furous on your behalf now. Don't worry, we will make this ok :)

I was there as a witness. He was being done for possession of an offensive weapon, theft (because he'd knicked it off the shelf in Boots) and something else, whatever they charge you with when you make people shit their pants in a chemist with a big carving knife.

The prosecution cross examined me (if that's what we call it, I stood behind a lecturn and gave evidence) then his lawyer did the same. Then I had to leave when he gave his evidence because he was under 18.

after a mugging, 3 black guys jumped me and a mate on a train and punched my mates face in after he gave some backchat

as these fellows were up on a string of convictions, including knife crime and selling drugs we were told we would give evidence behind a screen

i turn up in the afternoon straight from school after taking an AS level in the morning, sit in the room waiting for my time to give evidence, get called, walk out, and there they are, sitting there mugging me off as i stroll in wearing full school uniform, house tie and everything! I was most displeased

As for advice, basically stay calm, no need to dress too smartly, you will no doubt have to wait a while, when its your turn you walk in, stand in place and its all a blur basically as you answer some questions.

: The car that made these two, equal-length tire marks had positraction. You can't make those marks without positraction, which was not available on the '64 Buick Skylark!
: And why not? What is positraction?
: It's a limited slip differential which distributes power equally to both the right and left tires. The '64 Skylark had a regular differential, which, anyone who's been stuck in the mud in Alabama knows, you step on the gas, one tire spins, the other tire does nothing.

: Is that it?
: No, there's more! You see? When the left tire mark goes up on the curb and the right tire mark stays flat and even? Well, the '64 Skylark had a solid rear axle, so when the left tire would go up on the curb, the right tire would tilt out and ride along its edge. But that didn't happen here. The tire mark stayed flat and even. This car had an independent rear suspension. Now, in the '60's, there were only two other cars made in America that had positraction, and independent rear suspension, and enough power to make these marks. One was the Corvette, which could never be confused with the Buick Skylark. The other had the same body length, height, width, weight, wheel base, and wheel track as the '64 Skylark, and that was the 1963 Pontiac Tempest.
: And because both cars were made by GM, were both cars available in metallic mint green paint?
: They were!
: Thank you, Ms. Vito. No more questions. Thank you very, very much.
[kissing her hands]
: You've been a lovely, lovely witness.

I did get a call from the prosecution service telling me a court date had been set, and got a letter telling me what the three guys charges were (assault) but nothing else.
It's a bit of a headfuck to know that tomorrow morning I'll be walking in on my own into a completely unknown legal situation, where I might be sat next to the douchebags who mugged me, who could quite easily find out my personal details. Maybe I'm being overly paranod, I dunno.
I don't still know if I'm expected to give evidence or not. Or whether my identity is going to be kept hidden or anything like that.
Also, if they're found guilty is there a chance of me getting compensation? Hadn't heard of this until now.